Culture Beat is a German Eurodance group formed in 1989 by Torsten Fenslau. The act has gone through a number of line-up changes over the years. Their 1993 single "Mr Vain" was a number 1 hit in at least nine European countries, and the act is thought to have sold more than 10 million records worldwide.

Biography

Torsten Fenslau had been working as a deejay at the Frankfurt nightclub Dorian Gray, when he decided to form Culture Beat. His first single, the ambient house track "Der Erdbeermund", with a spoken vocal in German by Jo van Nelsen, peaked at number 11 in the German singles chart. Versions in English and French were also released (titled "Cherry Lips" and "Les lèvres cerises", respectively). An instrumental version was also a club hit in the United Kingdom, where it reached number 55.
Shortly afterwards, Torsten recruited New Jersey-born rapper Jay Supreme and singer Lana Earl to front the act, and the second single "I Like You" reached number 30 in Germany, and number 6 in Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart. They released their first album, Horizon, in 1991.
Lana was replaced by British singer Tania Evans in 1993, and the act took a harder Eurodance sound. "Mr Vain" became their biggest hit to date, reaching number 1 in Germany, Australia and the United Kingdom, where it sold more than half a million copies. It was also their first mainstream hit in the United States, peaking at number 17 on the Hot 100.
Subsequent singles "Got to Get It" and "Anything" were also pan-European hits, and their second album Serenity was awarded the ECHO award for best-selling German album internationally, with more than two million copies sold.
On November 6, 1993, Culture Beat's founder Torsten Fenslau was killed in a car accident in Messel. His brother Frank took over the group and they returned in 1995 with a third album called Inside Out, preceded by a single of the same name which reached number 5 in Germany and number 32 in the UK.
In 1997, Frank decided to take the group in a different, more mature sounding musical direction and replaced Tania with Kim Sanders, who had previously scored a hit with "Impossible" by Captain Hollywood Project.
Three years later, Jacky Sangster replaced Kim as the fourth female lead singer of Culture Beat. A single called "Insanity" was released in 2001. In 2003, to commemorate ten years since the release of the group's biggest hit, a new version of "Mr Vain" was issued in Germany and reached number 9 in the singles chart.
In May 2008, a brand new single called "Your Love" was finally released in Germany through Superstar Records.